Re: Lawn substitutes

Well, tho' I am no authority on grass, it is a plant / crop like any
other plant with certain requirements.  Our soil tends to be on the
acid side and lawn grass likes neutral soil - did you add lime when
you rototilled?

While grass can and does grow on less than ideal clay soils, it does
need pretty high nutrition to do well - did you add compost or manure
when you tilled or bagged fertilizer?

Think you said it was on a slope?  If that is the case, the seed
could have washed down the slope in the rain if you didn't put any
chopped hay or anything on it to hold it.

Your seed could have been not of the best quality or a bit old or
something (even if just bought)...grass seed has a short shelf life;
hence the poor germination...birds could also have done a bit of
feasting on it.

You said rainfall was good...does that mean you didn't water the seed
before germination?  My reading on the subject indicates that it
needs watering every day until it germinates...if seed of any type
has started the germination process and gets dry again, it is dead
seed.  If the seedling grass dries out - even for a day or two - it
will die.....

Is the soil native or was it hauled in from somewhere as fill in the
not too distant past?  If fill dirt, it could be contaminated with
something that kills off the seedlings and inhibits germination.

Well, that's quite a list of possible reasons and I am sure that
someone who know lawn grasses could add to it;-)

Do you have to have grass there?  If not, have you considered
planting a sun loving groundcover?  You wouldn't have to mow it:-) 
You would have to weed anything until it got established, tho'.  What
about turning it into a border or bed and just planting shrubs and
perennials?

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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> From: Peggy Elliott <pegster57@ntelos.net>
> 
> germinates sparsely, never gets to the adult stage. Didnt mulch it.
Rainfall
> was good.
> I planted it in March. I rototilled the soil.

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